Induced degradation of crude oil mediated by microbial augmentation and bulking agents

Different bacterial and fungal strains, isolated from petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil, were tested, in isolation as well as in combination, for their ability to degrade total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil samples spiked with crude oil (2, 5 or 10 %, w/w) for 30 days. The selected combination of bacterial and fungal isolates, i.e., Pseudomonas stutzeri BP10 and Aspergillus niger PS9, exhibited the highest efficiency of TPH degradation (46.7 %) in soil spiked with 2 % crude oil under control condition. Further, when this combination was applied under natural condition in soil spiked with 2 % (w/w) crude oil along with inorganic fertilizers (NPK) and different bulking agents such as rice husk, sugarcane, vermicompost or coconut coir, the percent degradation of TPH was found to be maximum (82.3 %) due to the presence of inorganic fertilizers and rice husk as bulking agent. Further, results showed that the presence of NPK and bulking agents induced the activity of degradative enzymes, such as catalase (0.718 m mol H2O2 g−1), laccase (0.77 µmol g−1), dehydrogenase (37.5 µg g−1 h−1), catechol 1, 2 dioxygenase (276.11 µ mol g−1) and catechol 2, 3 dioxygenase (15.15 µ mol g−1) as compared to control (without bioaugmentation). It was inferred that the selected combination microbes along with biostimulants could accentuate the crude oil degradation as evident from the biostimulant-induced enhanced activity of degradative enzymes.